Cashew Sour Cream

Rich and tangy, this vegan sour cream is the perfect complement to My Favourite Vegan Chili or any Mexican entrée. Be sure to soak the cashews (either overnight or using my quick-soak method) before you begin.

Yield2 cups (500 mL)

Soak time1-8 hours

Prep time5 Minutes

Cook time0 Minutes

Total time5 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (225 g) raw cashews, soaked

3/4 cup (190 mL) water

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Scant 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions:

Place cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight or for 8 hours if you have the time. For a quick-soak method, pour boiling water over the cashews and soak for 1 hour. Rinse and drain.

Place the drained cashews in a high-speed blender.

Add the water, lemon, vinegar, and salt. Blend on high until super smooth. You might have to stop to scrape down the blender now and then or add a touch more water to get it going.

Transfer into a small, air-tight container and chill in the fridge. It makes 2 cups. The cream will thicken up as it chills. The cream will keep in the fridge for about 1 week. You can also freeze it for up to 1 month. I like to freeze it in silicone mini muffin cups. Once solid, transfer the cups into a freezer-safe zip bag for easy grab and go portions.

Made this for the first time tonight. Did the short soak and it was very easy to whip up while my potatoes were baking in the oven. Wasn’t sure how I was going to pass this as sour cream with the boys. Thought I’d have leftovers to freeze. They loved it. My 14 year old almost ate the whole bowl by himself. My pickier 20 yo loved it. Thank you for this recipe. So much better than finishing a whole tub of dairy sour cream.

Do you think the cashew sour cream would freeze well? I’d like to make a big batch to use with your other Mexican recipes. I was dreaming of dolloping this on top of your Life-Affirming Warm Nacho Dip from the cookbook, too….drool….

I love love love this cashew sour cream! Sometimes, I look for recipes to make that will go with it, just so I can eat it.

This seems like a silly question, but if you put it in the mini silicone muffin cups, do you need to cover them? If so, how? I can’t seem to find any with covers. Also, are comments the best way to reach you? I don’t see any contact button on the website.

Hey Christine,
I’m sorry I missed your comment! My comments go to moderation now so I won’t miss any in the future. :)
Yes, Rachel is right…once the cubes/cups are frozen pop them out and transfer them into a freezer safe zip bag or container. I hope this helps!

My daughter made these for us on a recent visit, and they are fabulous! We had them in Tortillas, but I’m making them right now for my husband and me and will use lettuce wraps. I love the crunch of the walnuts, and just love this recipe, thank you!

Do you think this would be good over the roasted butternut squash salad? I love it without, but we are having this for company so I thought I would add roasted Brussel sprouts as I always do, garbonzo beans to made it more substantial, and maybe the cashew cream?

A friend recently introduced me to Oh She Glows. I made the Cashew Sour Cream this week as topper for white bean chili and as a dip for my veggie-stix-to-go— Yummy! I will be passing on this recipe (and website) to my friends and family! thanks, Angela for sharing this:) I will be exploring and trying more of your recipes! Yay for nutritious and delicious foods!

Hi there! I wanted to ask if it would be possible to use unsalted steamed (“regular”) cashews for this, rather than raw? Reason I ask is because I have had bad reactions to even traces of the oil compounds of the cashew shell when in contact with raw cashews. Granted, it was only on my skin, but the reaction wasn’t good, so it makes me hesitant to use raw cashews. Do you know if the soaking process would leech out any possible oil traces on the nuts? Or can I go ahead with steamed cashews? Thank you!

Hey Minda, Oh I wish I knew the answer to your question! I am stumped over here and would hate to give you the wrong answer. I haven’t tried using regular cashews to make the cream yet, but I will have to try it out sometime. If you try anything please let us know. :)

No worries, I actually researched it a bit, and found out that the toxic resin present in the shells of truly raw cashews is not present in commercially sold cashews. I found out that raw cashews from any store are actually not raw, they are always steamed in their shells before being packaged for sale; the steaming gets rid of the resin. I should have figured… :) I was just paranoid about it since I’ve handled truly raw cashew and their shells, and that turned out to be a very bad idea, hehe. Sorry for wasting your time, when I should have tried to do more in-depth research in the first place, lol! So yes, “raw” cashews are not actually raw, but always steamed. D’oh! :D

I’m sorry to say this didn’t work due to the added 3/4 cup of water – it was just too watery and i don’t understand how it worked for everyone else? Usually all of Angela’s recipes are perfect so i’m really surprised.

It is too watery right out of the blender, but after it is in the refrigerator for a while I find that it has the perfect consistency. I tried it with the favourite vegan chili (which is the BEST vegan chili I have tried). Served it to vegetarian and omnivore friends and everyone loved the chili and the sour cream. I had to share the recipe for both. Now I use it with bean burritos, soup, you name it. It is great!

We were very pleasantly surprised by how good this is! Just the right balance of tang and creaminess. (We made up a small batch to try it by cutting the recipe into a third: 1/2c cashews, 1/4 water, 2t lemon, 2t vinegar, 1/8t salt).

Yum :) I made this to go with your ridiculously tasty Veggie Chili and I’ve already eaten 4 bowls in the past 24 hours. I added a bit more apple cider and lemon juice though to get the tartness a little stronger. Like the site a lot, thanks!

Perfect! Thanks so much for this wonderful vegan sour cream. I am planning on using it today in a Tzatziki sauce recipe. I only made 1/3 of a batch, but will definitely be making more for dips, as a side to Mexican food, chili… No more grainy store bought sour cream for this gal.

Hi Robin, You can certainly try, but my guess is that it wouldn’t turn out as smooth as a blender gets it and it would probably take a fair amount of time in the processor. Please let us know if you try anything out!

I made this with a food processor, While not quite as smooth of texture as real sour cream, it worked for me. And it was AMAZING! I put this, along with avocado on top of a sweet potato veggie burger and it really added to the dish. Can’t wait to try it with veggie tacos.

Just made this, it’s sooooo good! I’m so glad you noted that it can be frozen because two cups is too much, but half a recipe wouldn’t work in the blades of the Vitamix as well. I’m going to have it tonight on refried bean burritos, then tomorrow on potato pancakes. I might even flavor it with something like veggie bouillon mix and dip some celery in it.

Hi, how long does this need to chill? I’ve had it in the fridge for about 4.5hrs and it’s still really watery. Is it suppose to take this long? If it doesn’t thicken can I just add more cashews to thicken it up? It smells exactly like sour cream so I’m really excited to be able to finish it.

Hi Patrick, I’m sorry to hear you’ve run into trouble! Usually a few hours should be more than enough time for the sour cream to thicken up, so I’m not quite sure what the issue could be. Maybe a little too much water got added somewhere along the way? (I know sometimes it’s easy to forget to drain the cashews before adding them into the food processor…?) Yes, you can probably blend in some more soaked cashews to thicken it up (assuming you’re using a high speed blender that can get them nice and smooth). I hope this helps!

After going through your post I found it really interesting and yummy to eat.
But I have one suggestion for you.Please add images in such tutorials from next time. As I am a beginner in cooking and for a person like me it is easy to understand with images.

Hello, I’m just wondering if you think this could be made with cashew butter? I don’t have a high speed blender or a food processor, but I’m missing sour cream so much after going vegan! Do you think there would be a similar taste if I tried it with cashew butter?

Hey Anna, That’s a great question…to be honest, I tried it in the past and I can’t remember for the life of me if it worked or not! My guess is that it would work you’d just have to find the proper ratio. I think 1 cup of cashews would make 1/3 cup of nut butter (just a guess!) so maybe you could start with that amount and see if it works, adding more if necessary. :)

Hi Thomas, Thanks for the great question! When you soak raw cashews, it makes them softer for ease of blending, and also makes the nuts easier to digest. For a quick-soak method, you can cover the cashews with boiling water and soak for 30 to 60 minutes.

Hey Fidelia, So glad the recipes were a hit! The cashew sour cream is really versatile and multipurpose, so it could be used with many different dishes. Try it on top of chili or soup, with vegan nachos or enchiladas, on a baked potato, on a sandwich or wrap, or stirred into salad dressings. Anything goes! :)

Could you please tell me if this sour cream recipe would be ok to use in place of regular sour cream in a cake recipe? I bought a gluten free chocolate cake mix and got it home never realizing it called for sour cream. Thanks.

Hey Kathy, I’m sorry but I’m not sure as I’ve never thought to use this in a cake recipe! My guess is that this vegan sour cream is thinner than store-bought sour cream. If you try anything please let us know how it goes. :)

Hey Andrea, I have tried using raw soaked sunflower seeds before and it does work in a pinch (although the flavour changes as they aren’t as creamy and sweet). I would suggest using a bit less called for, so 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup of cashews. If you try anything please let me know how it goes!

Hey Andre, Sadly I don’t think regular almond would work as it’s too thin, but I do think you could use raw cashew butter instead of cashews. I would probably start with around 3/4 cup raw cashew butter (usually 1.5 cups cashews make about 3/4 cup cashew butter). Please let me know if you try anything out!

Hey Sharon, Oh good question. If using almonds, I would be sure to use the skinned (blanched) kind and be sure to soak them well. If memory serves me correct the almonds don’t tend to get quite as creamy and smooth as the cashews.

Every time I make this, I think – why don’t I make this more often?! So delicious. Had it tonight with our favorite tofu and parsnip green enchiladas – a great addition! Many thanks for your wonderful recipes, Angela..

I loved the flavor of this but had a hard time getting it to thicken even post refrigerator, maybe less waster next time?? Also has anyone tried the mayonnaise? I followed the recipe to a T and the flavor was great but super runny, any suggestions? Overall loving these recipes, some of the absolute best out there.

Hey! I just made this tonight. It tastes really good but the texture is really grainy (to help you visualize it, it almost looks like curdled milk). I followed the directions using the quick soak method and blended everything in my Ninja blender for several minutes. It’s nice and thick but definitely not smooth. What could I have done wrong? Thank you for your time!

Kaitlin, I just made this using my Ninja blender and it came out fantastic. I did the quick soak method with boiling water and left the nuts two hours to soak while I was off doing other things. The secret to using the Ninja with nut spreads and butters is to take your time. If it looks ‘curdled’ you need to blend it longer. Your Ninja will do it, it just takes more time. Once it gets smooth, take it out & refrigerate it. The day after you make it the spread will get even smoother as the nuts further break down and the flavors marry. Thank you for this recipe, Angela! I am currently doing a sour cream recipe cook-off to see which recipe I like best. So far, this is the winner.

I bought your Oh She Glows Everyday cookbook a while back and last night decided to whip up your cabbage soup recipe with this sour cream. The soup was amazing but the sour cream was the closest to the real thing I have had! I loved it so much I came here to find other recipes I can use it in!

I am obsessed with this. I’ve eaten this cashew sour cream, along with sciracha, on just about everything over the past month. Pasta, tacos, breakfast hash, burritos, soups, avotoast – you name it. I’ll be making this pretty much forever.

I love cashew sour cream – and I thought I was doing the healthy thing by using it as a substitute for real sour cream. Im not a vegan – I just want to be healthier and I’m trying to lose weight. I was very surprised and disheartened to learn that cashew “sour cream” has over TWICE the calories of real dairy sour cream. I guess there is no magic bullet when it comes to cutting calories. I will still eat it, but a lot less often than I have been knowing its something of a calorie bomb :)

This is actually so good! I’m surprised with how good it actually tastes and I think I might like this more that actual sour cream! I added a bit more lemon juice to get more of that sour taste. This goes perfectly with chili!!

I have had such cravings of late for sour cream. I went to your site and crossed my fingers you would not let me down. As always, you did not :) Wonderful recipe!! If I want more sour, would I add a wee bit more lemon juice and vinegar? Don’t want to waste my expensive cashews on trial and error ;) Thanx again for a truly satisfying condiment.

I made nachos for friends and no one noticed that it was vegan. The taste is different to milk based sour cream when eaten straight but as soon as you put it on a dish it somehow transforms into this perfect sour cream taste!

I’m making it for the second time today to have with baked potato and couldn’t be more excited for dinner haha!

For those with consistency issues I use a Mod Blend Pro and it comes out as smooth as the real deal- no clumps here!

Hey Ellie, I love topping nachos with the Cashew Sour Cream! Thanks for the blender tip too. PS: If you haven’t tried them yet, my Cheerful Vegan Nachos are also a big hit around here: https://ohsheglows.com/2018/01/30/cheerful-vegan-nachos/